Maureen Hingert was born on 9 January 1937 in Columbo, Ceylon [present-day Sri Lanka], of Dutch ancestry, the daughter of Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run. Her father was the president of the Bank of Ceylon and had extensive tea holdings. On 25 June 1955, aged 18, she was crowned "Miss Ceylon" in Colombo.In October 1955, she made her screen debut playing a Native American in Universal-International's "Pillars of the Sky", and signed by 20th Century-Fox to appear in Kungen och jag (1956). In 1958, Hingert married Mario Armand Zamparelli, a Montrose artist. On 8 May 1959 in Los Angeles, their daughter Regina was born; she became renowned Los Angeles concert promoter Gina Zamparelli. Hingert had two other daughters, Marisa and Andrea. In July 1970, Hingert divorced Zamparelli. In March 1976, she wed William J. Ballard in Los Angeles.
